China exports far more vehicles to Russia than anywhere else

China exports far more vehicles to Russia than anywhere else

Automotive News Europe — 2023-07-12

Automotive Industry

Chinese automakers exported more vehicles wholesale to Russia than anywhere else in the first five months of this year, filling a void left by global manufacturers exiting the market because of the invasion of Ukraine.

China exported about 287,000 finished vehicles to Russia from January to May, almost twice as many as the next highest and last year’s top destination, Mexico, which received 159,000, according to customs data released by the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers on Tuesday.

China exported about 162,000 vehicles to Russia in all of 2022. State-owned Chery, Geely and Great Wall are the top three Chinese brands in Russia, accounting for a third of new car sales in the first half of this year, according to statistics from the Association of European Businesses.

Popular models include SUVs such as Chery’s Tiggo 7 Pro, Geely’s Coolray and Great Wall’s Haval series, the group’s data show.

Ukraine has placed Geely and Great Wall on a “sponsors of war” list of more than two dozen companies continuing to do business in Russia, a primarily name-and-shame exercise with no legal power.

Major international automakers such as Toyota and Volkswagen Group, along with companies from Apple to McDonald’s, pulled out of Russia as economic sanctions were introduced following the invasion that started in February last year.

Some faced consumer boycotts after taking longer to leave, including Renault and Japan’s Fast Retailing, owner of Uniqlo.

Many Chinese brands have stakes and partnerships with international automakers. For example, Geely and its founder, Li Shufu, control Swedish companies including Volvo Car and Polestar.

Its electric-vehicle marque Zeekr is also collaborating with Google’s self-driving firm Waymo and making a push into Europe and the Middle East